


Slow Down

by smallchittaphon



Series: Midnight Blue Forever [2]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Double Life, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Realization, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-10-18 22:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20646701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallchittaphon/pseuds/smallchittaphon
Summary: “It’s been 4 years.” Dejun stares. “Will you retire then?”Manic Man cracks his knuckles, “Depends.”“On?”Manic Man chuckles. “How long you’ll be a hero in this district, My precious Phoenix.”‘Me too’ Dejun thinks, ‘I’ll be a hero as long as you’re my villain.’





	Slow Down

**Author's Note:**

> \-- [+](https://youtu.be/LnZIcYU6BoI)  
\-- i want to say thank you to my beta for holding my hand and helping me flesh out this fic so it's good and they don't know this but it kept me going !!!  
\-- this fic ties into my jaehyun/jungwoo fic from a couple of years ago and it takes place over the course of 3 years after the events in that fic

Things don’t seem to change much around here for Dejun. His hours seem to suddenly merge into one extremely long blur of days gone by, nothing sticking out enough to distinguish them from each other. With his job occupying his nights, overruling his feeble attempts to restore a normal sleep schedule when he can and that, coupled with the thoughts of his extremely annoying humongous crush on his new(<strike> ish </strike>) roommate bombarding him the moment he sees him; it can be a lot for a subdued kind of guy like him. He’s by no means undermining the importance and the excitement of his job because his job is extraordinary, but he’s been at it since he was 16. But when he looks at Yangyang, he holds onto the hope that one day someone new will come in and uphold his position. That one day he’ll be able to live a normal life.

You see Dejun doesn’t have a regular job, to say the least. He was born a healthy boy like anyone else, but something had been just slightly off about him. His poor mom finds out what that is the harsh way when he’s 6 months and accidentally disintegrates his crib in a temper tantrum because she put him down for a nap too early. She finds him crying in a pile of ash and she can’t figure it out, the logistics, but she knows she can’t take him to get checked. It’s then that he’s been put in a relatively tight spot where he can’t really live as a normal person growing up, not having sleepovers with his friends or learning to keep all his relationships after 8th grade to a minimal interaction when needed because once he’s 16, he’s assigned a district by the hero initiative to protect, to overlook, to serve and now, he’s a hero in his own right. He’s even got an arch-nemesis. It sounds all very cartoonish but it’s Dejun’s very real life, his daily life and he’s 99% sure he’ll never leave this job. (_ The 1% stemming from all the times he’s had to do petty cop jobs like taking cats out of a tree and that’s gotten under his skin during rough patches and bouts of doubt. _) 

There’s HQ to report to and his district to look after and that turns to an absolute bore after time passes. There’s not much crime to fight when every district has at least two heroes assigned to it, you’d have to be an absolute buffoon to try as pull something massive. And the country takes notice, voicing their concern as to why their taxpayer dollars are going to glorified patrol when the crime has subsided by so much. The dumbest thing to happen out of this is the villain initiative funded and founded by the government and the number of heroes per district changes depending on how big it is, some districts losing heroes and others gaining some. Now every district has at least one hero and its villain. 

_ Stupid._

Dejun’s district is small enough for him to be the only one assigned here but not small enough for him to know everyone by heart. It sits quiet and quaint right on the edges of the main city and not the biggest district so it’s easy to make rounds, scope things out. Some nights allow him to hang around the district lines with Kun, who’s only one of the many heroes occupying the main district. Some nights allow them time to sit and talk the night away before their watches call them back to HQ to report the night's activity if needed and be dismissed. But other nights, Manic Man (<strike> _ ™ _ </strike> ) and G-Boy ( _ <strike> not ™ </strike> _) wreak havoc in the district, taxpayer dollars funding that and Dejun is obligated to indulge in their harmless bullshit villain crap because the government tells him so. 

Life goes on and Dejun lives day in and day out as his alias: Phoenix. Unoriginal, with the alias coined by Donghyuck when Dejun is brought onto the team. His desk right next to Donghyuck’s, the youngest on the team and now, Dejun knows he’s also the most annoying. But it’s endearing once he gets into the rhythm of being a hero— of being in the office when he needs to be. He’s even got little figurines and knick-knacks along the front and around his nameplate. Dejun’s desk in contrast to Donghyuck’s is amusing to the team, the neat and color-coded display of Donghyuck’s desk in comparison to the complete disarray and crumpled paper littering Dejun’s. At least his desk is cute. “That mug has been sitting there since the office Christmas party,” Donghyuck nags and reaches over to take it before Dejun can answer. “A year ago.” 

Dejun taps his pen on Donghyuck’s waist as he walks away, “Thanks, sweetie.” Only chuckling when Donghyuck flicks him off, his footsteps getting quieter and Dejun can vaguely make out Donghyuck calling out Taeil’s name from down the hall. Dejun likes his team, likes his desk and his job but sitting here in the office at HQ, he still longs for normal. 

That’s when normal had come in the form of Yangyang. Dejun feels the simplicity of having a roommate as low maintenance as Yangyang seeps into his bones and holds onto every ounce of every small interaction between them until his feelings form into something seemingly larger than life. 

The scene of Yangyang bounding down the stairs of the park pavilion they had agreed to meet, that cozy smile that dawns on his face replays in Dejun’s mind every time he thinks back. It seems as though Yangyang was put in his life to give him a taste of normal. Even when he longs for it, aches to be normal—With Yangyang, he feels normal. 

-

Dejun huffs harshly when he lands on the roof of his apartment building. The Manic Man symbol spray-painted on the roof from last week but Dejun doesn’t overthink it as he walks over to the ledge where said villain is. Manic Man doesn’t acknowledge him when they’re side by side, sighing long and hard enough for him to clear his throat after. His hair is electric blue to match his suit, mask forming over his cheekbones snug, like a second skin but his obvious blue contacts are piercing under it, captivating Dejun time and time again. He looks like some sad skater boy with a funny mask if Dejun’s being honest. He remembers thinking nothing of Manic Man when they had first met and thinks nothing of him after years of chasing after him and stopping his stupid purposely failed attempts at whatever the fuck he’s doing. 

He looks at Manic Man now, seeing nothing, his mind empties and his body relaxes. Dejun’s gotten into a rhythm and groove of trusting Manic Man. It comes easy now, to just slide up next to Manic Man and nudge him. Getting the smile from Manic Man before they settle down and start talking the night away or just being in each other's company; Being with Manic Man feels like a breath of fresh air in the complicated world of heroes and villains. 

“Did you see that they’re building a Taco Bell closer to our usual place?” Manic Man speaks up, turning away from the ledge of the building and down to the decorated rooftop, the residents have made recently. Dejun chuckles as he messes with the corners of his mask. “Yeah, I saw.”

Dejun supposes Manic Man gives him normalcy even when there’s nothing normal about their relationship and even the fact that they meet this way. Nothing normal, but it feels like it is. With the crisp night air filling his lungs and his head clear, Manic Man looking at him and he shrugs-- yes, it feels normal.

-

It’s not until 4 years of The ‘_ Phoenix V. Manic Man’ _saga that Manic Man turns their relationship on its head. 

He’s summoned to a small lake, the sight of Manic Man and Dejun sighs in his office when Dongyoung calls him to go in. Manic Man waits for him there much like he is today and he turns to greet Dejun. “Phoenix.” 

Dejun squints. “Manic Man.” He cautiously walks closer, two arms lengths away for safety when Manic Man lifts a bag of… _ McDonald's _?! “I’m not going to bite.” Manic Man claims as he holds his arms out for Dejun to see. “Just felt lonely. G-Boy isn’t in town and –“

“You thought to summon me?” Dejujn scoffs, “Me? When you’re a villain and I’m the hero?”

Manic Man rolls his eyes, “So egoistic.” Dejun jerks towards him and Manic Man shakes his head as a plead for Dejun not to hit him. Dejun can’t help but feel like this is some trap, he knows the ‘crimes’ Manic Man has done aren’t inherently bad because even though the government has allowed the rise of villains, they’re not that dumb. Villains aren’t allowed to do certain things or even toe at the line of what's okay because they’ll get reprimanded for it so Dejun can cross off ‘_ getting killed’ _off a small list of things that could go wrong right now. 

Manic Man’s whole posture isn’t at all alert and maybe Dejun does have faith (_ maybe too much faith _) in people. “So you want to hang out?” he asks.

Dejun reaches out to grab the bag of McDonald's and his stomach growls as the smell of the burger hits his nose, the bottom of the bag still hot. “Yes. No funny business, just two arch-nemesis, and cheeseburgers.” Dejun nods, “Okay.”

-

_ “You know I was training to be a hero?” Manic Man says, feet swinging off the ledge and Dejun perks up. Manic Man doesn’t look his way after saying it. He’s hunched forward as if to hide from further ridicule. Dejun can’t even begin to imagine how and why Manic Man ended up here. Dejun thinks back to hero training as his fondest memories, where he’s made lifelong bonds with his found family— a home away from home. _

_ “I think you have an idea of why and how I ended up where I am; Manic Man.” Manic Man laughs bitterly when he hears Dejun gasp softly next to him when it clicks. “The Villain Initiative, they forced you into it?” He can’t conceptualize the feeling of being in a group of people and then having your life tilt on its axis like that. The government you so willingly volunteered to give your life to, your powers to because you felt morally obligated to and then they tell you to be the thing you sought out to stop. See yourself turning into a villain but not out of sorrow or hardship but because you’re told or else. _

_ “But hey,” Manic Man sighs. He nudged Dejun and the wickedly crooked smile adorning his face makes Dejun relax against him. “Retirement benefits are as good as heroes’ and we get to retire after 5 years of service.” _

_ “It’s been 4 years.” Dejun stares. “Will you retire then?” _

_ Manic Man cracks his knuckles, “Depends.” _

_ “On?” _

_ Manic Man chuckles. “How long you’ll be a hero in this district, my precious Phoenix.” Dejun’s chest warms, insides on fire and his heart-stopping. “I don’t know you as a civilian and I won’t force it out of you. I don’t think I’m ready to give up my best friend.” And with that, Dejun curls his fingers over the cuff of Manic Man’s sleeve. His head picks up with the rush of blood loud in his ears, yes his best friend and god, his heart leaps. _

_ “You cheese ball.” Dejun groans but pulls at Manic Man’s cuff until he lets his hand fall into Dejun’s lap for Dejun to hold close. They slot together so easy and Dejun can’t pinpoint when touching came so easy to them but he knows when he noses along Manic Man’s temple in comfort, he wouldn’t have crossed a line. Manic Man leans into it, squeezing their locked hands and giving Dejun the softest smile. Dejun’s laugh ringing out as Manic Man shocks his side with his powers. _

_ ‘Me too’ Dejun thinks, ‘I’ll be a hero as long as you’re my villain.’ _

-

Dejun scrapes his knee on the fire escape in the morning. He’s made his way down it for years now and he’s never hurt himself, but maybe it’s worth it when Yangyang emerges from his room at noon, insisting he nurse Dejun back to health. His tongue poking out of his mouth as he bandages Dejun up, which in hindsight, is useless when he heals fast but it has bruised an ugly yellow color. Yangyang huffs, pulling back to admire his work and it’s so nice to have someone dote on him. (_ Other than Manic Man _). 

Yangyang treats him well, different from the way he acts when his friends are over but it makes Dejun feel special and it sure as hell doesn’t help these festering feelings that attach to every little thing Yangyang does and turns it into something that it’s not. Dejun tells himself that Yangyang treats him gently because he looks gentle. Kun had told him he had the feeling to always protect Dejun just because Dejun seemed like that type. The type of person that needed protecting, “But it’s kinda ironic when you’re a superhero.” Kun jokes. 

Yangyang gently taps Dejun’s ankle before he stands up. Dejun clutches his pillow closer to his body, ‘Working today?”

Yangyang walks into the kitchen and hums out loud, “Yeah, got some paperwork to do with a new hire coming in and whatever but our boss is taking us out for dinner.” He pokes his head out to look at Dejun and Dejun’s heart flips. His smile is bright when it reaches his eyes, “Means I don’t have to go in for the night shift for two days and maybe,” He skips over to the couch, in Dejun’s space and he can hear Kun’s voice telling him to breathe.

“Maybe we could hang out? Like, have lunch maybe? I dunno, I feel like we haven’t had time to hang out since we moved in together and--”

Dejun puts his hand on Yangyang’s knee, stopping him from rambling. His mind short-circuiting the moment their eyes meet and he rushes his words out breathlessly. “No. I mean, yes, Yeah, I’d love too. I’m not working nights for the next few days either!” 

-

(_ Brunch goes well. Dejun has to rush home from patrolling, convincing Kun that letting him leave an hour early is best for the greater good and Kun doesn’t buy it. Dejun knows Kun knows but Kun, god bless his soul, hums, and waves him off without another word. _

_ No sleep and he just gets home, hitting the other knee as he bolts down the fire escape and changes in record time for him to hear Yangyang waking up. Dejun runs to the mirror hanging by his door, ruffling and pulling his hair to muss it as if he had slept. He lets 20 minutes pass before he emerges acting like he’s been in bed the whole time. _

_ Brunch goes well and maybe on the walk home, their hands find each other— fingers locked and palm to palm as easy as breathing. Dejun can only imagine how red he is but Yangyang squeezes his hand and that’s enough reassurance for a lifetime. _)

-

Dejun makes his way down the stairs two-steps at a time. It’s early afternoon and he loves the way the sun hits right at the base of the stairwell in the lobby. Yangyang is following suit, albeit slowly and he grumbles under his breath about the elevator being broken for way too long now (it’s been 3 days). Yangyang huffs loudly as he steps down, grabbing Dejun’s shirt tight in his grip. “Remind me why I agreed to leave the apartment today?”

“Because I threatened not to bring you anything from the store if you didn’t?” Yangyang yanks his shirt hard, “And it’s been a while since we hung out. Always working nights and stuff so maybe I just want to see you.” And Dejun pats himself on the back when Yangyang ducks his head low to avoid his eyes and he nudges past him. 

The city during the day is far more interesting than at night. Dejun loves seeing the civilians he protects, the city he watches over at night come to life with all this energy and so many personalities. The city at night is cold and illuminated by a different kind of civilian, the night-life isn’t as active as other districts but Dejun still finds solace in the neon lights. During the day, he can see the everyday businessman walking fast, the buildings seeming to breathe life as people come in and out of the offices and Dejun’s heart aches a bit knowing he rarely gets to soak it in. 

Yangyang holds onto Dejun’s sleeves as they walk towards to store, the chill from the morning still lingering in the air and he appreciates the extra warmth on his side. It's one of those things that makes him feel like any other civilian. Yangyang running to grab a cart and telling Dejun he’ll check off things so Dejun can grab what they need. The silence between them as they walk through the aisles, Djeun holding onto the cart as they do so and asking Yangyang what he wants. 

“You know,” Dejun says once they’re unpacking everything back home. Yangyang is already opening the chips when he hums back. “I’m glad you’re my roommate. Thanks for coming with me today” Yangyang smiles back at him and Dejun’s heart shakes in his chest.

-

Dejun’s life can be described as a roller coaster designed by the devil himself. He can feel the roller coaster going up up up and only up until one day, it plunges and it’s never coming back up.

Dejun feels his relationships in life sorting themselves out and that’s great for him, he feels like he’s coasting through social interactions like a fucking pro. Manic Man is his best friend and their late-night chats are frequent and close. He finds out G-Man was reassigned to a different district but at least they’ve got each other. Yangyang has been a warm welcome and much needed constant at home.

Both of them working nights doesn’t come as an issue anymore when both of them are actively spending every free minute with each other. Dejun feels his crush grow into something so big and it’s worrying but then Yangyang pulls a face or makes him laugh and that’s settled him. They haven’t progressed past hand-holding but Dejun will take what he’s given. 

And then the worst night of his life happens (<strike> _ he’s being dramatic _ </strike>).

This night is like any other really, patrolling starts at dusk and Dejun kills time by roof hopping before the buzzer that alerts him of trouble rings. Manic Man. 

Dejun chuckles as making his way to the coordinates with ease, their favorite spot that overlooks the lake. It’s like any other night but when Dejun catches a glimpse of Manic Man, swinging his legs and waiting--his heart tugs. It’s different. It’s like when he’s in a room with Yangyang and he sees the world through rose-colored lenses. 

_ Oh no. _

Why does he have to be this way? 

Dejun spends the entire time thinking about pulling Manic Man’s mask up, holding him close and kissing his lips. He’s disgusted. How dare he even think about this?! Manic Man doesn’t notice Dejun’s inner turmoil and if he does, he doesn’t say. He does leave Dejun early though, “I got to do adult things tomorrow and go into work at noon so I’m calling it a night!” He pokes Dejun’s cheek as he stands and Dejun feels like a balloon, deflating and whirling around everywhere. His mind is mush. 

Dejun calls it a night too after sitting in silence for an hour because he can’t think. How could this have happened? Dejun doesn’t want to ruin a good thing with feelings. He rushes home, not even bothering to take his suit off as he runs down his building fire escape and into his living room but of_ course,_ the universe is a bitch and of_ course, _Yangyang so happens to be sleeping on their couch like that! Out of all the days he chose today. 

Dejun’s heart drops into his stomach. His body tenses with one foot in and Yangyang doesn’t stir. Dejun’s first response is too pull his foot back and close his windows as softly as he can before retreating up the fire escape. His heart thumping in his ear so loudly he doesn’t care about the amount of noise his boots made from slamming down onto the metal. 

He works fast to take off his costume, stuffing it into his bag hastily and slumping against the fire escape when he’d done to catch his breath and stop his heart. The fear of his identity being revealed to Yangyang stirs in him, his mind going a million miles in a few minutes as he tries to calm down. The sun is rising over the city, the sky bright orange as Dejun calms.

-

Dejun feels the tension in his body carries over into the next night he patrols. His city feels distant, unreachable and foreign. Dejun hasn’t felt this out of body since he first got assigned his district-- back when he was bubbling with excitement to learn every corner he could. This time it’s not a welcoming feeling. He’s not excited, his fear striking every minute and he’s thought about losing his alias for hours on end since the incident. He needs comfort, he needs reassurance.

Manic Man is the comfort he needs. But things don’t play into Dejun’s favor. Just as distant and foreign as the city feels, Manic Man becomes obsolete. He fades into a phantom of what he used to be, not reaching out as Dejun hoped he would. He had intentionally left clues for the other to find, to cue him in on the mess of his mind in hopes that he’d get the comfort only his best friend could. But Manic Man doesn’t answer. His signal is left untouched and Dejun knows he isn’t off-grid completely when he finds the ruckus Manic Man causes throughout the district. Just as he started, villainous and a terror, Dejun is signaled to stop mild fires that have Manic Man’s mark all over them. 

It isn’t until a week later that Dejun finally gets the comfort he’s been wanting. Seeing Manic Man standing in front of him makes all the tension, the fear that plagued him, dissipate. It’s quite crazy how much Manic Man means to Dejun. “Hey.” He whispers, not daring to move forward and Manic Man gives him a strained smile. 

“Hey.” 

Dejun slumps, “How have you been?” It’s a weird question to ask him, feeling like they’re back to being strangers.

Manic Man shrugs, “I’ve had better weeks.” He strides over to Dejun and his hand slides into his easy. Their hands together tethering Dejun to the ground and his heartbeat picks up again for a different reason. Dejun hadn’t taken the time to ever consider that maybe Manic Man had his plateful of things to deal with. He squeezes Manic Man’s hand and they walk closer to the lake. The silence is welcomed and for once, Dejun isn’t thinking about anything.

Dejun lets himself relax, eyes watching the still water and focusing on the moon’s reflection. “I wanted to see you.” Manic Man says. Dejun watches Manic Man’s chest rise and falls fast like he’s nervous. His moves to take his hand in his own but Manic Man pulls away. “I’m taking a break from duty.”

Manic Man huffs, “I just need a break. I hope you understand and I wanted to see you before I go.” 

“Okay.” Dejun lets out weakly. The blood rushing in his ears loud and fast as Manic Man leans over, caressing one of Dejun’s cheeks before leaving a gentle kiss on the other. His lips lingering and warmth spreads through Dejun’s chest. He jerks when Manic Man pulls away, holding his hand still against his cheek before their eyes meet. 

Dejun knows he could lean forward, connect their lips in a bittersweet kiss-- it feels like the moment when Manic Man’s eyes linger on his lips before their eyes locked once again. But Dejun swallows hard, his ears pop. “I’m going to miss you.”

Manic Man sighs heavily, “We’ll meet again, my sweet phoenix. I can promise you that.” 

-

Dejun realizes fast how much Yangyang is mirroring Manic Man in making himself scarce. Dejun can’t remember the last time he had seen his roommate more than an hour tops since the accident. It’s isolating. He feels the walls closing in and the loneliness settling in his chest. Everyone’s got a secret and he’s not in the know. He wanted to tell Yangyang just to free himself of the mental hoops he’s been jumping through endlessly but when Yangyang pulls away, it’s harder to find the right time to bring it up. 

Dejun spends his nights hanging around his building, watching Yangyang come out of his room and hang in their living room at ease since Dejun isn’t home. It’s not a good feeling seeing it and confirms that something is up. Dejun thought they had made progress and Yangyang doesn’t seem like the type of person to hold hatred in his heart. It just fuels Dejun’s insecurities.

Maybe he’s not cut out for this double life anymore. 

Dejun loves his job but it seems to cause more turmoil than not within his relationships. With the people he loves. When’s the last time he’s gone out to visit his parents or hang out with Kun on a rare day both of them have off? The need for a normal life has never been more apparent than right now when Yangyang comes home, bags of groceries in hand and the brightest smiles he’s given Dejun in days. It’s familiar and comforting and Dejun forgets for a second where he is and what he’s thinking of.

“Do you trust me?” Yangyang asks out of the blue. Dejun frowns, “Yes. Why?” 

His eyes don’t meet Dejun’s as he unpacks the groceries hastily. “I’m making you dinner today, up on the roof. I secured a spot for us tonight and I hope you can make it before you go to work.” His voice is soft and Dejun doesn’t except that. Yangyang moves to face the fridge, everything about his body giving away how nervous he is to ask and Dejun bites the inside of his cheek. Maybe having dinner would be nice and he can go in a little later than usual. “Yeah. I’d like that.” 

Yangyang turns to smiles, “Cool, just meet me up there at 8. Trust me, it’ll be good.”

-

Dejun doesn’t know whether its nerves or excitement to be hanging out with Yangyang but he hurries up the fire escape to the roof an hour before. Yangyang catches him and smiles. “I’m just going to go see the sunset.” Dejun justifies and Yangyang waves him off. 

Being up here makes his mind go back to Manic Man, the many nights they’ve hung out on the roof for hours on end and his heart tugs just a bit. Even if he doesn’t put it into words or processes it well, Dejun misses Manic Man. Yangyang can fill that void for a bit but it’s different. They’re different and Dejun cannot figure out how he’s even come to harbor a crush on two people. His admiration for Yangyang had flourished into a crush, tangible and grounded in the amount of time they’ve lived together. But the connection he’s made with Manic Man plagues his mind day in and day out, seeping into his job and he feels that if he were to know Manic Man as a civilian, they’d be even better friends than they are now.

Dejun doesn’t know how much time passes before Yangyang is coming up and drawing his attention. He’s got a bottle of coke tucked under his arm, two wine glasses in hand and the food in a tupperware. “Made buffalo chicken dip!” He huffs and Dejun stands to take the load off him. 

Dejun chuckles as Yangyang pours coke into the glasses, clinking his with Dejun’s— getting a rise out of him as he sips the coke like it is wine. “You’re goofy.” 

Yangyang smiles, “I hope you like dinner. I wanted to spend time with you.” Dejun smiles back as he opens the tupperware. The plastic forks rattling as the fall from the lid and Dejun inhales deeply, “Smells delicious.”

It’s somewhere in between the recounting of the time Yukhei had gotten his foot stuck in a shopping cart when he made a homemade ramp and Yangyang telling about the time Hendery had knocked over a shelf of eggs at the grocery that the night dwells down. Every lingering thought or anxiety towards Dejun’s second identity dissipates into thin air. His cheeks turning a bit rosy from the cool air but not cold enough for him to want to go back inside. He’s enjoying himself, work be damned. He’ll be fine going in a bit late.

Yangyang clears his throat, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Dejun shrugs, “Shoot.”

Yangyang sets his glass down, looking out over the cityscape when he says. “I know you’re Phoenix.” Dejun’s heart picks up as Yangyang taps his glass, “That night of the fire escape, you’re not very stealthy and the noise woke me up. I was going to look and I thought maybe it was one of the stray cats but then I saw your boots as you came down and I froze.” Dejun’s head is spinning. Every worry he had, every worst possible outcome has happened in his mind ten times over. Yangyang knows.

Yangyang clears his throat, “I’m not one to put anyone down when I have been keeping a secret from you as well. It’s only fair that I tell you but I’ve been beating myself up about it.” Dejun shuts his mouth, eyebrows furrowed as Yangyang reaches for his hand— five quick jolts shooting up his wrist so familiar; Jolts of electricity just like how —

“Granted I didn’t know you were Phoenix ‘til a couple of weeks ago but,” Yangyang reaches for his glass just as Dejun does. Both so tensed up and out of their skin because of everything. Dejun thinks back to how scarce Manic Man and Yangyang have made themselves almost so perfectly aligned it clicks in Dejun’s mind now. He’s finally seeing Manic Man as a civilian and this is something he’s always wanted. But it’s so bittersweet under the circumstances.

“Why wait to tell me now?” Dejun questions. 

“I don’t think telling you at the lake would’ve been the best place.” Dejun can agree on that. “I thought making you feel comfortable and _ then _ telling you was the best. That way you wouldn’t run away.” 

“I wouldn’t have run away.” Dejun clears. 

Yangyang finally meets his eyes, “I couldn’t just assume you wouldn’t. I didn’t want you to run from this, Dejun. Do you know how crazy it is to think we’ve been living under the same roof for as long as _ I’ve _ been _ your _ villain?” 

Dejun shakes his head as he reaches for his cup again, “This _ is _crazy.”

Yangyang frowns, “There’s one thing I am sure of though, even if I wasn’t sure you’d stay to hear me out or any of this.” Dejun nudges Yangyang’s foot under the table as his eyes linger on him. Yangyang’s frown deepens. “Dejun, as sure as I am of the sky being blue, I know I’m in love with you.” 

Dejun drops his cup, shattering at his feet and he doesn’t even flinch. “Bro! _ What?! _” His leg going numb and his head spin, it’s like the world tunes out as he watches Yangyang watching him. This is a dream, an absolute dream, there’s no way. “You’re pulling my leg,” Dejun claims.

Yangyang’s leg hooks around Dejun’s ankle. “I know you feel the same.” Yangyang leans forward, “I can see it in your eyes.” He stands up, moving to the chair next to Dejun and it’s now that it finally registers that Yangyang had always reminded him of Manic Man, it would’ve been more obvious to him. With Yangyang so close like the night at the lake, Dejun could reach over and pull him close— kiss him like he’s always wanted to. 

He blinks slowly, “I do.” Dejun whispers, his breath coming out short. “I love you,” Dejun affirms and Yangyang smiles, a nervous laugh leaving his lips and Dejun feels giddy. Dejun feels the butterflies erupt in his stomach as Yangyang pulls him close, his nose knocking his like he had always done but this time, he leans the little ways more and kisses Dejun. 

It’s like the world makes sense again as he laughs into Yangyang’s mouth, his fingers smoothing over Yangyang’s and his heart pounding loudly.

**Author's Note:**

> \-- g-man is hendery uwu  
\-- im @smallchittaphon on all socials


End file.
